My friend Stu returned from California with a nice haul of “West Coast” beers not available in S. Florida. His philosophy is that good beer is meant to be shared, so he invited a small handful of friends to his backyard for a great beer tasting on Saturday.

The Beer "Waiting Room"

Above is what I called the Beer “Waiting Room”. This is a photo before more beer was added as guests arrived.

I have listed the beers in the Order we drank them. Our method of picking our next beer was very random. We would just go to the beer “Waiting Room” stick in our hand and pull out a beer, most of the time not knowing what we were going to pull out. It actually worked out quite well this way, as you will see the styles did vary and kept palate fatigue at bay. We were able to taste 21 different beers style from the 26 beers we had.

I paired this beer with: South Florida shrimp chowder. This pairing was not the best; I will try to avoid all hoppy wheat beers with chowder in the future.

Tasted on: Wednesday May 26th, 2010.

Note: You start off with a nice citrusy nose. The taste starts off with what is both tart and citrusy sweet. As this beer warmed up it became very apparent that the hops were there (in a good way), the tartness faded and you get more of the grapefruity tangerine bitter/sweet fight, which was well balanced. Great beer to have by the pool on a hot summer day.

On the Label: Second release in a limited series. The Flying Fish Exit Series. We’ve now hit our second stop on our multi-year trip to explore through beer all that is New Jersey.

Exit 11. Its confluence of highways ensures that you can get there from here. So we chose a beer that celebrates a confluence of styles. We looked to Germany and its wheat beers, but then we used a classic English ale yeast. A trio of Pacific Northwest hops chime in to create a refreshing American wheat with a bit of a hop bite.

Exit 11 is brewed with 50% Belgian pale malt and 50% white wheat. It’s hopped with Columbus, Palisade and Amarillo hops. We then dry hop it with more than a pound per barrel of Amarillo hops for a bouquet reminiscent of tangerines and apricots. A perfect beer to enjoy when you get where you’re going.

From their website: The Exit Series™ of beers is a multi-year brewing experiment to brew a series of beers as diverse as the great state of New Jersey. These big beers–in size as well as flavor–will celebrate each exit of the state-long artery that connects us. Each beer will focus on a unique aspect of an individual exit. Learn more about this project at ExitSeries.com.

Exit 11 Hoppy American Wheat Ale is the second in their wildly popular Exit Series of Big Bottle Beers. Exit 11 is a confluence of styles and ingredients, just as Exit 11 is the point in New Jersey where the Garden State Parkway, the New Jersey Turnpike and several other highways come together.

“Exit 11 is the point on the Turnpike where the Garden State Parkway branches off and takes hundreds of thousands of travelers to the renowned Jersey Shore,” says Flying Fish Founder Gene Muller. “Our Exit 11 Wheat Ale is a fresh, citrus-y summer beer perfect for beachgoers and those who only wish they were headed ‘downa shore’.”

Exit 11 is an American-style wheat beer brewed with English ale yeast and three Pacific Northwest hops, Columbus, Palisade and Amarillo. It is brewed with 50% Belgian pale malt and 50% white wheat, and is an ideal summer thirst quencher, with its bouquet of tangerines and apricots. Exit 11 is available only during this one-time release, and only until it sells out across New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.